Improvement in tiles for roofing



No. 121,624, Patented Dec.5,1871.

mw@ nf PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. HUGHES, OF TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN TILES FOR ROOFING.

Specification forming part of Letters` Patent No. 121,624, datedDecember 5, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J oHN B. HUGHES, of Terre Haute, in the county ofVigo and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and usef'ulImprovements in Tile for Roofing; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and eX- i act description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangementof a peculiarly-formed tile for purposes or' roofing and weather-siding,and in the mode of fastening the same, as will be hereinafter more fullyset forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionappertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe itsconstruction and operation, referring' to the annexed drawing, in which-Figure l is a perspective view, showing' several tiles put together.Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the cap, and Fig. 3 is a view of theunder side of the tile.

A A represent tiles attached to the horizontal ribs or joists of a roofor wall by means of nails passing through holes a a, near the upperedges of the tiles. At the sides of the tiles A A are upturned edges orribs D D, and in the center' at the lower edge a raised part, B, thelatter to allow of a groove, C, being formed beneath the tile to receivethe upper end of the cap E, the said caps being used to break the jointsbetween the tiles. The under side of the tileis shouldered at G, and itslower surface so raised from the said shoulder to its lower edge as toadmit of the upper edge of the preceding course of tiles resting beneathit upon the ribs or joists. The upturned rib D is formed of exactly thesame width the entire length, and on the under side of the cap E is alongitudinal groove the sides of which are parallel, and said groove isof such form and size as to lit over the contiguous edges D D of twotiles. The cap is then secured by a nail through its upper end at b. Theupper end of the raised part B, on the under side, in the center of theshoulder G, is hollowed out at d so as to reduce the thickness of thetile at this point, facilitating the manufacture of the tiles.

l am aware of the patent granted to George Cook, November 12, 1867, butmy tile differs from his in several essential particulars. In Cooks casethe upturned edges or ribs are made tapering and the groove in the capof corresponding shape, so that the cap would have to be slid on fromthe top, and hence when one single tile was broken or needed repair itwould become necessary to remove a great number of tiles and break 011eor more caps. This is entirely obviated by my improvement, because it isonly necessary to raise the lower edge of my tile a short distance toremove the cap of the tiles below. Then the holes a and b in the tileand cap are made of such size that they can readily be lifted offwithout breaking or removing the nails. The straight edges are also muchmore easily manufactured by machinery than the tapering'. Anotheradvantage is also the hollowing out on the under side at d. In Gookscase, the shoulder G ran entirely across the tile, making the tile atthe upper end of the groove C much thicker than the rest, which causedit to crack and break in drying; but by my improvement the thickness isnearly uniform, and hence no accidents occur in drying. This uniformityof thickness is obtained by extending the hood to a point above theshoulder with corresponding hollowing out underneath.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The plate A, formed with the upturned edges D D, raised part B, of theform shown, hollowed out at d, in combination with cap E constructedwith parallel sides, all arranged to form a roofing-tile, as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses: JOHN B. HUGHES.

T. H. ALEXANDER, J. V. WHITE. (126)

